U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon has granted Sirius XM the right to appeal its New York lawsuit over royalties for pre-1972 recordings. McMahon wrote that she granted appeal permission because of “a critically important controlling question of law” and uncertainty about whether Sirius XM had fair use to make temporary copies of the music. She determined that the case “warrants a close look by a controlling court.” Continue Reading →
The Download on Podcasts is a new weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
The spirit and anything-goes attitude of theCHIVE.com is carried into a new podcast, just three episodes old. The program is an interview format, and scored a big win with this week’s interview of celebrity entrepreneur Mark Cuban. Click through to listen. Continue Reading →
Research firm Strategy Analytics issued a report to its subscribers, analyzing the mobile music market, and projecting its growth through 2021. RAIN discussed key points report author Wei Shi. “Streaming is in ascendency.” Continue Reading →
The Download on Podcasts, a weekly feature covering the development of podcasting as a vital audio category, is sponsored by PodcastOne. Podcasts are on-demand audio programs, growing quickly in audience, programming, and revenue. Podcasting turns to viral marketing to grow… Continue Reading →
by Kurt Hanson
RAIN’s founding editor Kurt Hanson observes dwindling CD sales, and compares other entertainment costs. Then, a three-step plan for the music industry. Continue Reading →
The Wall Street Journal reports that Spotify “has expressed a desire” to raise $500-million in private investment, and is working with Goldman Sachs to achieve it. Meanwhile, in an unrelated analysis, past RAIN Summit keynoter Jason Calacanis predicts that Facebook will acquire Spotify. Continue Reading →
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify drops longstanding PR firm; continued piracy problems and potential solutions. Continue Reading →
Apple has filed for a new patent that could change how digital rights management is handled in its music properties. iTunes buyers could potentially share files downloaded from the store. If it plays out that way, it could open a secondary revenue stream for Apple’s decelerating music store. Continue Reading →
On Thursday, Zenbu Magazines filed multiple proposed class-action lawsuits against several streaming services seeking to collect royalties on music recorded before 1972. The company targeted Beats Electronics, Sony Entertainment, Google, Rdio, Songza, Slacker, and Escape Media Group (which owns Grooveshark) in the complaints. Continue Reading →
Following its big launch in India, Rdio announced a push into 24 new countries in the Caribbean, Central American, and Asia Pacific region. The new markets bring the total number of countries with Rdio availability to 85. Continue Reading →
The year kicked off with some intriguing announcements about niche streaming services, such as The Overflow for Christian or gospel songs and ClassicsOnline HD for classical music. The latest niche to enter the online music scene isn’t a genre-centric one. Cadence & Cause is looking to attract listeners with altruism. Continue Reading →
Pinguin is a Dutch station that brings a sometimes eclectic, occasionally international mix into its stream. The high-bitrate streaming was flawless in our testing, and the music kept us interested and energized. Try it. Continue Reading →
